Writers Workshop - What's in a name?

It's Thursday and I'm linking up with Mama kat's Writer's Workshop.

This week's prompts:

1.) Interview you mom...questions might include, How has motherhood changed you? What ages were your favorites? Do you miss having having kids in the house? What was the most difficult part of being a mom for you? What was the most rewarding part? etc... I think I'll ask my Mom if I'm her favorite child and when she dodges the question (again) I'll scream, "DAMMIT WOMAN! Answer the QUESTION!!" Feel free to steal my idea.

2.) Tell us the story of your birth.

3.) How did you parents choose your name? What does it mean? What would you change your name to if you could?

4.) Describe a moment when you realized your mom was more than just a mom.

5.) Write a poem for your Mama.

This week I've decided to go with #3. I've always thought my name was just 'okay'...until I hit middle school and it was like the most popular name...I swear there were 5 of us in my grade 6 class (at that point I hated it). Ridiculous! If you talk to my mom she'll tell you she chose my name because it was original...well I guess 1980 was the year that name made it big cause it sure ain't original...

Today it's a name I can live with...at least I don't work with 5 other Melissas...now Karens and Audreys we've got quite a few of those in my profession lol.

Anyhoo...my parents decided that my mother would have the final say on any girl names and my father on any boy names...and when my mom was pregnant she was certain I was a girl (how she knew she still can't really describe) and so they never even considered any boys names.

She says she loved the song "Don't Cry Out Loud" by Melissa Manchester while she was pregnant with me....and so one day singing along to it in her car she said out loud "Melissa Mae"...and so it was. Mae is a family tradition on my dad's side and one I hope to have a hand in carrying on someday...all first born girls dating back at least 3 generations prior to me have the middle name Mae.

And now for the meaning (thank you Wikipedia):

Melissa is a given name for a female child. The origin of Melissa comes from the ancient Hittite word Melita which means honey. The meaning of the word has shifted into honey bee in Greek. Moreover, the pronunciation has changed to Melissa (Ionic Greek: Mέλισσα).

So uh...yeah...Honey bee...not anything cool like brave or beautiful one...but again I guess I can live with it.

Growing up I was dying to be a Samantha...I loved Sami's character on Days of our Lives. Actually a friend from elementary school found me on Facebook a little while back and asked if I remembered her changing her name to "Sarah" briefly while I changed mine to "Samantha"....oh yeah I remember! lol.

So there you have it...what about you? Do you love your name or hate it?